


A Strange Moment in Time

by TheShyBadger



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24543937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShyBadger/pseuds/TheShyBadger
Summary: A crazy idea I had, what if the whole family from the past met themselves in the future. My first crack fic i guess.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Harrow/Sarai (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 172





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is short because I had a lot of trouble finding a place to cut it. I'm not an experienced writer and can be pretty inconsistent, so I apologize in advance.

King Harrow sat in his study trying desperately to find some record or evidence of a hidden grain supply, or forgotten territories he could seize in order to survive the coming winter. However just as he discovered the night he stayed up looking through old treaties, offers of aid far and wide, or even just debts owed to the kingdom of Katolis, he had no way to stop the deaths of a hundred thousand people. 

With weary eyes he closed the record book and sighed. He had promised the kingdom of Duran that they would share all that they had, and if necessary, share in their suffering, however he had hoped that his advisors were wrong. The other kingdoms were no help, fighting similar conditions for the last few years, and unlike Harrow, they were not willing to share the burden when their own people were at risk. Not that he blamed them, however it did make his job a lot harder.

As he stood up from his desk to stretch his weary legs, he heard a knock at his door. After giving permission, he smiled as his wife and their two children stepped through the doorway.

“I thought I would remind the king that he must say goodnight to the princes.” Sarai mocking a formal tone, handed their newborn to him.

After placing a kiss to Ezran’s forehead, Harrow chuckled, “What would I do without such a thoughtful Queen? Goodnight Prince Ezran. Goodnight Prince Callum. I hope you have pleas…”

“Harrow! Harrow I think I found something! I… Oh, my apologies, I did not realize I was interrupting a family moment.” Viren had burst through the open door and stopped upon seeing Sarai and the kids.

“I was just seeing the princes to bed. We can talk when I’m done.” Harrow said.

However it seemed fate had different plans. The door slammed shut on its own. All around them was a sudden whirlwind, throwing books and papers off the shelves and around the room, causing everyone to cover the children for protection.

“Viren? What’s going on?” Sarai shouted over the wind.

“I don’t know!” Viren shouted, pulling out a feather from his belt. With a snap of his fingers he set the feather aflame and began chanting.

“Llits eht dniw.” A small bubble of still air encompassed the group with just enough room to stand and watch the room fall into chaos around them. The wind was even strong enough to knock over the chairs and slide the desk into the bookcase opposite of them. Outside the window, a large flash of light flooded the room, nearly blinding Harrow. Then, as quickly as it began, the wind died down and the room fell silent. 

“Viren, What was that?” Harrow asked, still holding his hand over Ezran protectively.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen magic like that, I’m not even sure what it did. We should get out of here. You may still be in danger.”

“He’s right. We should get the boys to the throne room. It should be well defended.” Sarai said as she scooped up Callum. Before they could leave however, the door opened.

“What is going on in here?” An elf of all things, walked in to see the family and Viren. She was wearing green and purple garments with a red sash around her waist that bore Katolin symbols. After a moment of confusion, she lept back and drew two elaborately folded blades from behind her back.

Viren didn’t hesitate, he pulled out his primal stone and drew a symbol in the air. “Fulminus!”  
The elf barely dodged, jumping back through the doorway.

“Looks like we’ll have to fight our way to the throne room.” Viren remarked.


	2. A Strange Moment in Time CH2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow two days in a row. That was unexpected. So now we're getting to see the family meet with some of their future selves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so editing is for people who don't have ADHD lol. Once again I'm a pretty inexperienced writer but I hope you enjoy my attempt to practice.

Rayla couldn’t believe it. Viren was here. In the castle. That had to be impossible. He had died, twice, by her own hand. Yet his lightning blast had just missed her head by a hair’s breadth. She thought she heard him say something about the throne room, she couldn’t let them get there. Callum and Ezran were there planning the parade to celebrate the stopping of the war. And that wasn’t all.

“Mum?” the confused voice behind her brought her back to her senses. Her daughter had forgotten her drawing book in her room, and Rayla had walked with her to go get it. That’s when she had heard the commotion in the king’s study.

“Sweetie, Get back!” Rayla pushed her daughter out of the way of Viren’s wind blast only to be knocked into the wall with enough force to give her a headache.

“You brought a child to infiltrate our castle? You elves really are monsters.” Viren Spat at her.

Then she saw them, A man and woman who looked just like Callum’s drawings of his parents, both carrying a child in their arms. The man, King Harrow, grabbed a sword from a nearby suit of armor statue, not setting the young Callum look alike down, only moving to place himself and the sword between herself and his ward.

“Stand down, and you might make it out alive.” He threatened.

“Sweetie, go get your father.” Rayla said not taking her eyes off the group.  
“Right!” The small elf bolted around the corner only to instantly reappear.   
“Okay but like, What am I supposed to tell him? Because right now it sort of looks like...”  
“I know what it looks like. Just tell him that Viren is back and he’s using nasty illusions.” Rayla cut her off.

Her daughter bolted away again, leaving Rayla to focus on stopping Viren before he could put anyone else in danger. She leapt forward.

Viren swung his staff. Rayla ducked, then swiped at his feet. Viren fell. Rayla stabbed. Viren rolled swinging the staff, and struck Rayla in the ribs. That bought him enough time to get to his feat. A slash meant for Viren’s head was blocked by the staff. He kicked at her. Rayla side stepped and struck him in the head with the pommel of her sword. An opening. She rammed him with her shoulder and he fell into a suit of armor. It clattered as it fell over him. She seized the opportunity and brought both swords down to end him.

Harrow’s sword blocked hers with a clang. He no longer held the young Callum, who was hiding behind his mother. Rayla flipped backwards. Even though they were illusions, they had a real impact, like Ava’s fake leg. Viren climbed to his feet again.

“Looks like it’s two against one, elf.” Viren sneered as he began drawing a rune in the air. 

Rayla rushed to stop him. Harrow stepped between them and blocked her swords. A second slash missed his face. Harrow stabbed. Rayla blocked. The Harrow leapt to the side. As her eyes followed him, Viren yelled.

“Aspero Aestus!” A wall of scorching wind grazed her shoulder. The tapestry behind her was set aflame. Viren followed with a downward slash of his staff. Rayla backstepped. The staff bounced off the stone floor, and Viren used that momentum to stab at her. Rayla deflected the shot to the side and pivoted. Viren stumbled, crashing into the wall just below the burning tapestry.

“Aspero frigus!” Icy wind swept over Viren, encasing him in a block of ice before he could rise to his feet. Callum, her husband, ran forward and lifted his foot above a frightened Viren. With a hefty stomp to the head, Viren lost consciousness.

Harrow couldn’t believe it. There was a man who looked remarkably like his son, (his STEP-son, he must remind himself) who just trapped and knocked out his best friend with extreme prejudice. And yet the first thing he did after was to check to see if the elf was uninjured. 

“I’m fine.” she said before he could even ask. “Listen, Callum.” She cupped his cheek and looked towards Harrow and his family. Not with the anger or malice he would have expected from an enemy of Katlis, but instead with a sort of sadness. “Viren was using some nasty illusions. He-”

“We are no illusions. As king of Katolis I command you to release my friend.” Harrow mustered as much authority as possible, despite how a mage and an elf, would most likely be too much to handle while trying to protect his children behind him.

He tried to raise his sword but was stopped by Saria as she stepped forward and lowered his sword for him..

“Callum?” The name came out as a whisper.

When the man finally saw them for the first time, there was shock and pain in his eyes, then they hardened as he raised his hand and drew a rune in the air.

“Perdo Mendacium.”

A wave of energy rushed out from the rune, sweeping over everyone before they could react. When it was gone, Harrow and his family seemed completely unaffected, Viren however looked as though he had just used a lot of dark magic. This however went unnoticed by the man and the elf, who instead were clearly expecting something else to happen to the rest of them. After a moment of confusion, tears formed in the man’s eyes, and his voice broke as he spoke.

“Mom? Dad? Is… is it really you?”

There was a clamor as a group of guards rushed in behind ‘Callum’, swords and halberds at the ready. They surrounded Viren, chains rattling as they began to break the ice and handcuff him.

“Your Highness. What should we do with…” The guard began, only to stop as he saw Harrow and his family behind him.

“Take him to the dungeon. Make sure you take away anything he has on him. We can’t let him use any magic.” Callum commanded, snapping out of his daze, if only for a moment.

“Sir, what is going on here.” The guard asked as the rest began hauling Viren away.

“I don’t know.” Callum said. “This can’t be real.” He began walking towards them, as Sarai did the same.

“Callum? Is it really you?” Sarai reached up and cupped his cheek. His hand covered hers.

“Yeah, it’s really me. What are you guys doing here? And, is that… me behind you? What is happening here?” Callum’s disbelief mirrored Harrow’s.

Harrow picked up young Callum and spoke.

“We don’t know what is happening. One minute we were in my study, the next there was a gust of wind, and we were here. Callum, Why did you attack Viren? He’s like your uncle. And what are elves doing here?”

Callum looked at him as though he were a ghost. 

“Dad. I can’t believe it. It’s like you guys stepped out of a painting. Or you came from the past? I don’t know but you’re not illusions. This is so weird. Oh Viren.” Callum seemed to only just hear his question.

“Dad, Viren is a traitor. He tried to kill Ezran and I after you…” His voice broke. Once again the pain returned to his eyes. “After you died.” Harrow faltered hearing that. Could this really be the future? So much of what just happened in the last five minutes seemed like something out of a mad man’s ravings.

“As for the elf, well... um… a lot has happened while you were gone and… well. Meet my wife, Rayla.”

The elf stepped forward, and waved awkwardly. 

“Um, greeting your highnesses. I’m sorry for batting you before, I thought you were just illusions Viren was using to try and manipulate us. I am Rayla of the moonshadow elves.” She took a small bow.

Harrow then noticed the small elf looking from behind the corner. She had short horns coming from out of her dark brown hair. Rayla followed his gaze and motioned to her to approach.

“It’s ok sweetie. We don’t know what’s going on but it’s safe.”

"Oh right. Mom, Dad," that still felt weird to say to them in person. Of course it was weirder than anything just having the opportunity.

"This is Sarai, my daughter."

The small half-elf stepped forward, clearly nervous to approach someone who was just fighting their mother and now must accept them as her family.

“Um hello. I am, uh, Princess Sarai. And I know that your name is Sarai too. You look just like the old paintings… oh i mean, er, i DIDN’T mean that you look old. Just that the paintings were old. You don’t look old. You look great. Um really good…” She stepped back to Callum’s side and bowed. “Nice to meet you, your highnesses.”

“Your Highness. Would you like me to inform King Ezran?” The guard behind them interrupted them.

King Ezran. So it was true. Harrow really was dead here.

“No, thank you Marcos, but I think I should tell him. Um… Would you guys like to meet him?” Callum asked.

Harrow nodded. He had so much to ask and learn about this new world they seemed to have fallen into. At Callum’s direction, Harrow followed, family in tow.


	3. Ch.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So now Ezran gets in on the mix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't really get this chapter how I wanted it, inexperience at work I guess, but the more i try the worse it gets. Hopefully later chapters will go better.

Callum couldn’t believe it. He was walking down the hallway to the throne room, with his mom and dad, a baby Ezran, and a young version of himself. He had so many questions. He bet that they all had a million questions between them, and yet everyone was in a sort of confused silence. There would be time to sort all of this out with Ezran, for now he just needed to root himself in the moment.

Rayla took his hand without a word. She could probably tell that he could use the help staying calm. Following her example Callum held his other hand out for his daughter. Callum felt better when Sarai took him up on the offer, and hand in hand, they led his old family to meet the rest of his new family.

Then, the doors to the throne room stood before them. Callum turned to his parents.

“Okay, before you meet Ezran, you should know, a lot of things have changed.” Callum raised his and Rayla’s hands a little to illustrate his point. “Elves and humans are no longer enemies. In fact there are many here today to help us celebrate the end of our hostilities. It’s not perfect, but we have peace.”

Harrow let young Callum down, standing tall again as young Callum moved behind his mom.

“There are so many questions I want answered, that I don’t even know where to start.” Harrow said.

“I know what you mean, but hopefully we can work through them together with Ezran.” Callum turned around and motioned to the clearly bewildered guards to open the door.

Ezran placed the marker on the map of the city, satisfied with the route he had planned out.

“I think this path would make it easier for the sick and elderly to see the parade from the hospital. They should be able to see it from the windows, without being close enough to disturb those that need rest. What do you guys think?” He eagerly waited for the response from his advisors.

Opelli spoke first, as usual. “My King, some of the roads along the way are rather narrow. It may require us to move more slowly to keep things in order.” Ever the voice of reason.

“That’s okay. It means that everyone will have more time to enjoy it.” Ezran responded smiling.

“If that is your wish. Though I may suggest we begin an hour earlier to avoid delaying the ball at the castle.” Opelli said.

“Is everyone else okay with that?” Ezran asked the others. The Katolin council members all nodded in unison, followed by similar responses from the elven diplomats. 

Then, with a loud clang, the throne room doors opened to reveal Callum and his family, with some guests behind him.

“Callum! I think we have the parade all mapped out. Now all we have to plan is the ball.” Ezran said. Then he noticed the people behind Callum and Rayla. It was their mom and dad, complete with little versions of himself and Callum. Ezran was shocked for a moment. 

“Um practicing your illusion magic?” he asked.

“Can we have the room please?” Callum asked the entourage of diplomats and advisors. After various salutes, and awkward shuffling and confused looks, the guards shut the doors.

“Callum?” Ezran asked when the group was alone. 

“Um so, we don’t know what is happening, but these aren’t illusions. I think these are really our parents.” Callum’s words were shaky, as though he only just realized it in that moment. Tears seemed to be forming in Callum’s eyes. Ezran was unsure of how to take the news. It was admittedly hard to see his parents just moments before when he thought they were illusions, but now he found his own eyes growing misty. It couldn’t be real. Right?

“How?” was all Ezran could muster.

“We’re not really sure. One moment we were in my study, the next a strange wind came out of nowhere, and we wound up here.” Harrow answered, still seeming in shock to see his baby boy as a full grown man. A King no less. The crown sitting on his brow just like Harrows, only fully connected, with what looked like olive branches bridging the gap that should have been an empty space between the uneven towers.

“Dad?” Ezran whispered. Before he knew what he was doing, he rushed forward and hugged Harrow. Now the mist in his eyes became fully realized tears. It was real. The man he was hugging was really his father. After a moment’s pause, Harrow wrapped his arms around Ezran, which caused Ezran to sob.

Ezran had no memories of his mom. He felt guilty, but all he could think about was that he had never said goodbye to his dad, and that made him hug Harrow even harder.

After sobbing a few more minutes, Ezran tried to compose himself and pulled away from his father.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have fallen apart like that.” Ezran said shyly. Harrow smiled softly.

“It’s ok. Even a king needs to let things out sometimes. You look like a mighty king indeed.” Harrow said. Ezran thought he might cry again, but held it back.

“Okay, so you said you were in your study when all of the sudden you were here?” Callum interrupted the moment to ask Harrow. Ezran saw the red in Callum’s eyes and knew that he had cried some too. If he had to guess, Ezran would say that Callum was trying to focus on the mystery at hand in order to avoid losing control of his emotions.

“Yes, I brought the kids in to say goodnight to their father when Viren came in. Shortly after a weird wind came from out of nowhere. When it died down… your wife came in the study asking what the noise was.” Queen Sarai answered, hesitating with a tone Ezran couldn’t quite place. There was no malice behind it. After, Callum had everyone involved recount every detail they could remember about what brought the family from the past. 

“Hm, well obviously none of you used any spell that would have done this, and I’ve never heard of ANY magic backfiring in this way, not even dark magic. And if it was something in the past that brought you forward, then we would have known already that something had happened to make the royal family disappear. So maybe something happened here in the present to bring you here?” Callum was talking mostly to himself at this point. Ezran heard a little yawn, and saw the culprit was none other than young Callum.

“Hey, um, Mom? You said that you were letting Dad say goodnight to us right? Well why don’t we let these two get some sleep after all.” Ezran offered, holding a hand out towards the throne room doors.

Callum looked at the younger version of himself and his little brother and his face twisted with guilt.

“I’m sorry guys, I didn’t mean to keep you up. I should have got you some rooms.” Callum said.

“Well Dad, you and mom can use the royal suite. The bed is a bit too big for me still, I'll take a room near Callum until we figure the rest of this out. We can even get some beds for you two brought in there so you can still be close to mom and dad. How does that sound?” Ezran directed the last bit to young Callum to try and make him feel better. The whole time he hid behind Queen Saria’s legs. Young Callum seemed to cheer up a bit knowing he wouldn’t have to sleep far from the only people that made him feel safe in this crazy situation.

“Hey, are you ok?” Rayla asked Callum as she climbed into their bed for the night.

“I don’t even really know. I mean, this is all so crazy. Am I going to wake up tomorrow and find out all of this was a dream?” Callum asked, staring at the ceiling.

“I don’t know. But I mean, it’s your parents. You gave me back my whole family and we both wished that you could have yours back. Now here they are. Maybe not in the way we would have expected, but they’re here. Love, I hope this becomes something amazing for you.” Rayla meant that. For everything he had done to reunite her with Runan, her mother, and her father, Callum had no chance of ever being with his own mother and father again. Or so she had thought. The world would always be a strange place.

Rayla kissed his cheek and laid her head on his chest.

“Don’t stay awake too long thinking about it. We can deal with it in the morning. I love you. Goodnight.” Rayla closed her eyes, knowing that it would take her husband much longer to find the rest he would need.

“Goodnight Rayla. I love you too.” Callum whispered to her, sweet and grateful to have her with him.


	4. Ch.4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harrow is reminded that yesterday did in fact happen, and Queen Sarai watches how the family spends their morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So from now on these chapters are going to be shorter and more focused so that I can keep up some semblance of productivity.

King Harrow felt the first groggy conscious thoughts mull about in his mind trying to wake him, and stubbornly resisted their call to rise. He rolled over to cuddle with his wife, hoping it would help lull him back to sleep, only to find the bed empty. At last giving up his plans to extend his slumber, Harrow sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Looking around the chamber he did not see Sarai, however he did see his two sons, sleeping soundly on a mattress at the foot of his own bed.

After a moment of wondering why Callum was in the King’s chamber instead of his own room, The previous day’s events all came rushing back to him. So many impossible things happened, and so many seemingly impossible things learned that he had trouble believing it wasn’t just a dream. However it would not take long before he received proof that it was all real.

Sarai slowly opened the chamber door, and seeing that Harrow was awake, whispered to him.

“Harrow, come quickly, you have to see this.” She beckoned to him.

Harrow quietly rose from bed and slipped on his shoes, following his wife down the tower to a hallway overlooking the courtyard. The sounds of combat practice echoed from an open window, and when he looked down below, he smiled at what he saw.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Callum blocked both of Rayla’s wooden swords with the top of his practice staff, then tried to use the bottom of it to swipe at her legs. Rayla jumped back just in time to avoid being tripped and then she stabbed. Callum pivoted and returned with a stab of his own. Rayla blocked with her left and swung high with her right. Callum ducked and tried to upper cut with the bottom of his staff, hitting nothing but air. Rayla downslashed with both swords and was blocked by the staff. Instead of backing off she pushed hard, forcing Callum to try and resist, slowly losing ground.

“My my, Prince Callum, have you been putting on muscle?” Rayla said coyly as she gained another step forward.

“What are you talking about? I’m still losing here.” Callum scoffed.

“Mm yeah, but I have to try harder now.” Rayla said. All at once she stopped pushing and let Callum slide past her, swiping at his back. The solid thunk told her that she had hit her mark.

“And I win again. You’re gettin good though. Not Moonshadow assassin good, but good.” Rayla giggled as Callum pouted, rubbing his back. She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him into a kiss. “I’m really proud of how far you’ve come.”

“Ugh, You guys know you won’t die if you go five minutes without kissing each other right?” Princess Sarai said from ten feet away in front of an archery target, clearly looking grossed out by her parents public display of affection.

Callum rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly shy, while Rayla mocking looked confused.

“Really? That can’t be right. I’m pretty sure we won’t last that long. In fact, we better double up just to be safe.” Rayla joked as she pulled her husband in for another kiss.

“An archer must be aware of her surroundings, without being distracted by them. Back to your exercise little one.” Runnan said impatiently.

“Yes Grandpa.” Rayla wined, turning back to her target. Knocking an arrow she did her best to steady her breath, and fired, hitting mere inches away from the bullseye ring. A few seconds later another arrow landed next to the first. As she lined up her third shot, Runnan used the feathery flights of an arrow to tickle Sarai’s ear. Sarai pulled all of her focus to hit the target. As the arrow left the bow, Sarai immediately turned around and fidgeted with her ear to stop her grandfather from tickling it further, not even seeing if she hit her mark.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” she screamed.

“I’m testing your focus, and you passed. In fact, it would seem you perform even better under stress, than you do normally. A good skill to have, my pupil.” Runnan almost seemed to gloat as he used the arrow to point at the target. Sarai was still annoyed when she followed his direction, only to instantly put her hand to her mouth. The arrow had struck dead center, so perfectly that the arrow even went between the woven circle in the middle and buried itself all the way up to the flights.

“I did it? I did it! Ma, Dad, look! I hit the center!” Sarai jumped for joy and pointed at her work.

“Way to go sweetie. I knew ya could do it.” Rayla doted.

“I knew it was a matter of time. You’re pretty awesome sweetheart.” Callum added.

"You guys look like quite the happy family." A voice called from the window over the courtyard.

Callum looked up to see Queen Sarai waving at them. 

"Hey guys give me a minute. I want to go talk to… my mom." A smile crept on his face with those last words. 

“We’ll be here, love. Take your time.” Rayla said, patting his arm.  
As he left the others behind, he couldn't help but quicken his steps. Yesterday was full of hurried explanations and hard realizations. Today was new, though. He could actually sit down and just talk to his own mother. The woman that was stolen from him so long ago. He had so much he wanted to say and to ask. He didn't know where he would begin.


	5. Ch5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was finally time for a conversation between Callum and his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I'm human and suck at descriptions, so I didn't include any mention of Runaan's arms. I will touch more on it when he is in another chapter, but Runaan has only one arm. The assassin band removed his left arm as promised. now, enjoy the rest I guess.

Viren’s head throbbed as though the weight of the world sat on his temples. Reaching up to hold his head only brought an uncomfortably loud racket causing him to wince. Finally he opened his eyes to investigate the source of this metallic clanging coming from his wrists. Chains. Viren was chained to the floor.

_ The dungeon? Why am I here?  _ Viren thought, already recounting the events that led up to this.

_ The elves were attacking, one of them ran off, I had the other one on the ropes, then I was trapped in ice by… the mage. He was a human mage! Why would a human help those bloodthirsty elves? And how did that land me here? _

Viren scanned his surroundings. He was in the castle’s public dungeon, not his own hidden cells. The bed he lay on, hardwood with no covers, typical for a prisoner. The light coming from above was a soft purple, indicating that dawn was only an hour or two away. This however made seeing farther than five feet away difficult. His robes seemed to be all that was left on him. No pouches on his belt or ingredients in his pockets making him feel almost naked. 

“My my, what a sticky situation we have here.” a deep voice almost sang from the darkness.

Viren bolted up, trying to look as battle ready as possible with his hands bound.

“Who is there? Show yourself!” Viren commanded.

“But, of course. I am always here to help you Viren.” came a smooth, almost amused reply. From the shadows just beyond the bars of his cell, a figure appeared, a translucent being that felt almost ancient, and ethereal. The robes it wore were covered in a starry pattern extending to its drawn hood, which seemed to be covering some large headdress. “Past, present, and future.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Viren asked, gaining an ever increasing feeling of dejavu. 

“I assume by now you have figured out that something is off, that you are not where you’re supposed to be. Well my dear Viren, that is because I have brought you to a new and interesting time, specifically somewhere around thirty two years in the future. This may sound crazy I know, but I assure you, it’s possible.” The stranger explained, matter-of-factly. 

Viren stared at him for a minute, before deciding that this was all in his imagination, probably from being hit in the head, and layed back down on the bed.

“Come now, I assure you this is real. I am bound to you Viren, through space  _ and time _ . And through this bond, I have called you to me, through all these years, so that I can finally ensure that your will is done.” The stranger almost pleaded with him.

“And what is that exactly? And why should I believe you? I don’t know who or what you are.” Viren huffed.

“I am your humble servant. You wish to secure a bright future for all of humanity. I seek only to aid you in that endeavor. I have earned your trust before, and I will do so again. You need your freedom first. Then I believe some pesky elves should be removed.” The stranger grinned.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Callum fidgeted with his scarf as he climbed the stairs. He said he wanted to talk to his mom, and he did, but now he had no idea what he wanted to ask. The urge to talk to her for hours had welled in his chest, however he hadn’t even started and was drawing a blank on what to say. He was running out of stairwell to climb and still no closer to a conversation starter, when he was interrupted by Queen Sarai herself. 

“Callum! It is still no stranger to see you fully grown today than it was yesterday. But look at you! An early riser, with a healthy lifestyle. I’m so proud.” Saria practically beamed.

“Oh… um.. Thanks. I mean most days I still try to sleep in. But I’m a dad you know. I’ve got to set a good example. I mean, you know. You’re a mom. I mean of course you know you’re a mom. How wouldn’t you know? Heh heh.” Callum couldn’t stop the word vomit spilling from his mouth. “You were a really good one too. I mean ARE a good one. I’m sorry. I don’t know if that’s rude. I’ve never talked with someone from the past before… Sorry.” Callum sighed, trying to reign in the thoughts racing through his head. 

“Honey, it’s ok, take a breath. Are you ok?” Sarai grabbed his shoulder, concern flooding her face.

“Sorry, yeah I’m ok. It’s just weird having you back.” Callum said.

“How long have I been gone?” Sarai’s tone softened, looking directly at her son.

“Um… About thirty… one, thirty two years. It’s been a while.” he said.

“It’s ok that you’re nervous. If my dad suddenly showed up I would be too. Come on, Harrow is checking on the kids, why don’t we get something to snack on before breakfast?” Sarai offered.

“Well Barius usually has some jelly tarts ready for Ezran early in the morning.” Callum suggested.

“I knew I liked that man.” Sarai smiled.

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Ezran shuffled towards the castle kitchen, desperate for a sugary boost to his morning after the near all-nighter he just pulled. As he rounded the last corner, voices caught him off-guard enough to bring him to attention. It was Callum and Queen Sarai talking softly to one another, their voices packed with emotion. Ezran ducked behind the door frame and listened as well as he could.

“It wasn’t easy growing up without you after that, no. I tried so hard to grow into the man I thought you wanted me to be.... But at some point, I was so busy just trying to survive, or do what was right, that I forgot to be what you wanted of me. I guess that just made me think I failed you.” Callum sounded like he was about to cry.

“Sweetie, I promise you, that you haven’t failed me. All I wanted for you is to grow up happy and healthy. The last thing I want is for you to try to be something you’re not just to please someone else. And look at you! You’re High Mage, have a happy family, you stay active and just. You’re everything I ever hoped you would be. I love you Callum. I always will.” A ruffle of clothing made Ezran think they were hugging.

“Thanks mom. It’s really good having you back.” Callum sniffled a little as he said that. “Come on, we should get out of here before Ezran finds out we ate all his jelly tarts.”

“YOU WHAT?!” Ezran shouted as he jumped out of the doorway.

“EZ!” Callum jumped to his feet, clearly shocked to see Ezran catching them in the act of stealing his precious morning tarts.

“Aw I needed those after staying up all night….” Ezran’s anguished cry petered out almost immediately as a familiar sensation exploded from within. The smile that spread across his face instantly inspired confusion in Callum and Sarai.

“Zym’s almost here!” Ezran shouted as he bolted for the courtyard to greet his winged friend for the first time in a year.


End file.
